Asheville on Bikes has recently drawn attention for its successful advocacy at City Hall, but it’s just one of many community organizations that seek to pull the levers of political power in Asheville. Xpress spoke to several of these groups to learn more about how they pursue their agendas.
“We think that with some basic education, the cups can end up in the right place so they get composted.”
“The problems sound enormous and hopeless, and I’m an optimist. But some cities have found solutions.”
Listed on Council’s agenda for Tuesday, March 22, is a presentation about Asheville’s “community cleanliness strategy.” The discussion comes two weeks after the Asheville Downtown Association released its annual survey, in which respondents gave the city’s core a 2.2 out of 5 in terms of cleanliness.
Safety and reducing criminal activity downtown closely followed homelessness among the top concerns. Survey respondents were asked to evaluate downtown in terms of how safe they felt. The average score was 3.5 out of 5 for perceived safety during the daytime, dropping to 1.9 out of 5 at night.
Outside of COVID-19, the top three business issues reported in the latest Asheville Downtown Association survey remain virtually identical to those of previous years: downtown cleanliness, safety and parking for both visitors and employees.
Seasonal celebrations have largely been curbed, but plentiful German-style beers and imports are available throughout the local market.
There is no fee for business owners interested in signing up, says Franzi Charen, founder of Asheville Grown Business Alliance, which produces the card each year. The only requirement is that locally owned, independent shops honor the card with hand-selected special offers.
German transplants and local Oktoberfest event planners discuss annual celebrations in Asheville and abroad.
Slated to open on Saturday, Sept. 1., the lot will offer 100 new spaces with 24/7 access at $70 per month. Dana Frankel, downtown development specialist with the city, notes that there is currently interest in over 80 of the 100 available spaces.
Friday, May 18, the 30th annual Downtown After 5 concert series launches with an especially localcentric show: Asheville All-Stars, a super-group comprised of a rotating cast of Asheville’s favorite singers and musicians.
The seasonal German-style brews hit the local market and will soon be followed by a trio of Oktoberfest parties.
At the Asheville Downtown Association’s annual State of Downtown luncheon, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer and Buncombe County Commission Chair Brownie Newman touted lists of major public projects and initiatives that benefit downtown. Meanwhile, urban planning consultant Joe Minicozzi argued that tax revenue data show more municipal investment in downtown is both warranted and needed.
The Downtown Holiday Windows Contest, held by the Asheville Downtown Association, features an annual theme: this year’s is “Light up the holidays.”
The festival’s move this year to Pack Square Park is in response to its continually growing popularity with locals and tourists alike.
Nonprofit leaders assume many roles in order to keep their organizations afloat and their mission alive. For most Western North Carolina’s nonprofit leaders it’s a labor of love that has its fair share of challenges and rewards.
One clear winner from the 2015 City Council elections: local hopes for a public space for the city-owned lots facing the Basilica of St. Lawrence and the U.S. Cellular Center. Not so clear: exactly what kind of space Asheville needs and who will pay for it. The city’s Planning and Economic Development committee took up the hot potato issue to try to figure out how to move forward.
“Lesson to be learned: Sometimes it’s better to leave well enough, alone. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it — money is the root of all evil!”
The Asheville Downtown Association tried something different at the Wednesday, Oct. 14 Asheville City Council candidate forum. Rather than bringing the candidates up on stage, the forum blended candidates into the audience to interact with and answer questions directly from the voters.
There’s a simple and straightforward theme around this edition’s picks. All four shows are worth paying to see and hear, but all four shows are FREE. And they all start and end at a family-friendly hour.
On Tuesday, Jan. 20, several members of the Asheville Buskers Collective met in the conference room above the French Broad Food Co-op for a post-holiday regroup, aiming to find consensus about what buskers do, who buskers are and whether (and how) enshrining their needs in city ordinances is a realistic possibility. Several weeks after a previous […]
